New York 2014: Day 4

On the night of Day 3, Kazu mentioned that she wanted to have breakfast somewhere that has a nice view of Manhattan. We spent all night searching for places, but we couldn't find any that's within our range and budget. So we settled for a place called Sarabeth's, and it was surprisingly good!

After our brunch at Sarabeth's, Kazu had to go home once to grab a few clothes because Kayo asked us to sleep over at her hotel again (YES! MORE GOSSIP GIRL LIFE FOR ME.)

I noticed that all of the building clocks that I've seen in Manhattan don't keep time properly.

On our way to...

Flatiron District!

The distinctive shape resembles that of a clothing iron, hence its name.

When Kazu came back, we made our way to Brooklyn Bridge! Been waiting for this ever since I arrived in New York City!

Street food stalls everywhere.

A group of guys were hip-hop dancing right outside the subway station!

And I was pulled out from the audience to dance with them... Gangnam Style.

I didn't get to see this happen because I was one of the people they used for this performance, but I can't believe they were able to jump over five people! Thanks to Kazu for this photo!

Finally, Brooklyn Bridge!

I've been dreaming of taking this photo of the bridge!

After walking halfway of the Brooklyn Bridge, we walked back to see the next spot on our itinerary: the 9/11 Memorial.

Reflective buildings are the best.

The memorial plaza consists of two pools, the north pool and south pool, with waterfalls cascading from the sides. They're located within the footprints of the original Twin Towers. With the sound of water falling, the memorial gave off a very tranquil and peaceful atmosphere.

Seeing all the names inscribed in the bronze plates was really heartbreaking. As I was walking around the pool, I passed by a mother crying over her daughter's name as she caressed it. It made me tear up, knowing that even though more than 10 years have passed since the incident, the wounds inside the people who were left by their loved ones are still as fresh.

A white rose is placed by the names of the victims on their birthday.

This one caught my eye as it was a white paper crane, not a rose. It's tragic because the Japanese regard the crane as a symbol of good fortune and longevity, but with that unfortunate happening on September 11, 2001, their lives were cut short.

After our thought-provoking visit to the 9/11 memorial, we made our way to the Staten Island Ferry.

Manhattan.

The Statue of Liberty! As this point, we were wondering why the ferry didn't stop at the island where the statue stands, as we thought it would.

The ferry heading back to Manhattan.

After our short trip to Staten Island, our stomachs were begging to be fed. We were craving for something greasy and very New York-ish, so we decided to go for fried chicken. When we asked for directions to a bus driver, he offered to give us a ride even though the bus he had was out of service. It was like having our own personal limousine. Even bigger!

Thank you to our very kind bus driver!

Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken!

Damn right.

I haven't even ordered yet but I already fell in love with the store at this point. Everything's designed so modernly!

YUM.

I wish they also had Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken in Toronto and Tokyo. Currently, they have only one store in the whole world. Definitely going to pay a visit again the next time I go to New York City!

As Fumika and I have already seen Times Square and its beautiful city lights on our first day in New York City, we simply had to show it to Kayo and Kazu as well!

NYPD!

Suddenly, Iron Man and Iron Patriot appeared.

A statue of George M. Cohan, an American entertainer, in the heart of Times Square. It commemorates his contributions to American musical theatre.

I will never get tired of Times Square. NEVER.

As it started pouring outside, we rushed our way into a nearby Starbucks and called it a night with a few drinks. We did a LOT of walking today so we were pretty beat by the end of the day.

It's very bittersweet to know that our 4th day in New York City is now over, and that we only have a day left to spend in it. I've fallen way too hard for the city, I can't possibly think about leaving.

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The Guy Behind The Camera

Ken is a 20-year old Japanese/Filipino photography enthusiast based in Toronto. This blog was born out of a want to document his forthcoming years of being an international student outside of his hometown, and what began as a personal diary soon became a time capsule. In this fast-paced world he lives in, he makes it a point to pause and take something out of each beautiful moment. And he does this through photographs and films. This is the chronicle of his journey.